Jake Sullivan, Ylli Bajraktari Warn of Narrowing Gap in AI Development Between U.S. and China at IOP Forum

Former U.S. National Security Adviser Jacob J. Sullivan said the United States holds about a six-month lead over China in frontier artificial intelligence development at a Harvard Institute of Politics forum Monday evening.

Cambridge Selects 40 Residents for Surveillance Tech Assembly Through Lottery

Forty residents were selected through a lottery drawing to advise Cambridge on its surveillance technology, including the controversial gunshot detection software ShotSpotter.

Anthropic Chief Economist Says Company Is Exploring Ways to Steer AI Toward Augmenting Workers

Anthropic’s Chief Economist Peter B. McCrory said Wednesday that his team is exploring whether the artificial intelligence company can steer its technology toward augmenting workers rather than replacing them.

Harvard Kennedy School Pilots Tech Policy Concentration for MPP Students

Harvard Kennedy School launched a pilot concentration in technology policy this semester, giving master’s in public policy students a more technically demanding path through the school’s growing slate of courses on artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

Kendall Square Biotech Incubator Launches Program to Draw International Startups

As biotechnology companies slowly downsize in Cambridge, LabCentral, a non-profit incubator for early-stage life-science companies, launched a new initiative to attract international biotechnology startups.

Goldberg Convenes Harvard Law School AI Committee As Donors Float Condensed J.D. Program

Harvard Law School Dean John C.P. Goldberg has convened a steering committee to shape the school’s response to artificial intelligence — and fielded repeated suggestions from top donors that the school condense its three-year J.D. program to two.

Anthropic and Microsoft Researchers Weigh Limits of Artificial Intelligence at Berkman Klein Panel

Researchers from Anthropic and Microsoft split on the limits of artificial intelligence during a Berkman Klein Center panel on Monday, two days after Anthropic’s chief executive urged AI companies to slow down their work.

Harvard Kennedy School’s Dustin Tingley Named Vice Provost for Advances in Learning

Harvard Kennedy School professor Dustin Tingley has been named Harvard’s vice provost for advances in learning, formally taking over a University role he has held on an interim basis since last year as Harvard continues to grapple with the role of technology in teaching and education.

Harvard Kennedy School Plans Tech-Focused Shift in Preliminary 10-Year Plan

The Harvard Kennedy School is preparing to reposition itself at the center of the rapidly evolving relationship between government and technology, according to early details of a sweeping new 10-year strategic plan.

Humanities Departments Are in Trouble, but ‘Applied Humanities’ Are in Demand, Harvard Panelists Say

The humanities are struggling at universities nationwide — but outside the ivory tower, fields from Silicon Valley to politics need them more than ever, four Harvard professors said at a talk hosted by the English department last week.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt Warns AI Could Think For Itself In Four Years at Harvard Talk

Former Google CEO Eric E. Schmidt predicted that artificial intelligence will be able to learn from itself within four years at a forum hosted by the Harvard Kennedy School on Monday, where he issued a stark warning about the need for limits on autonomous learning.

Facing Wary Investors and the Lure of Outsourcing, Cambridge Biotech Firms Turn Away From Basic Research

Tariff pressures, a changing regulatory environment, and risk-averse investors have left many Cambridge biotechnology companies seeing decreased new drug development — and outsourcing parts of the research process.

Former Employee Sues Harvard for Disability Discrimination

A former Harvard audiovisual technician sued the University and her former manager for disability discrimination and retaliation in state court earlier this month, according to court documents.

Somerville Incentivizes TransMedics Move With Ten-Year Tax Break

The city of Somerville approved a tax increment financing deal on Oct. 23 that would offer a ten-year, $18 million property tax break to TransMedics — an organ-care technology company — in hopes of motivating the company’s move to Assembly Park.

NYT Journalist Kashmir Hill Warns Emotional Reliance on AI Could Blur Boundaries Between Help and Harm

New York Times reporter Kashmir Hill warned that artificial intelligence systems, many of which are programmed to always agree with the user, could soon shape how people think, feel, and trust in a Thursday panel at the Berkman Klein Center.

Tech Experts See Artificial Intelligence as a Key Resource Ahead of Local Elections

Schneier and Sanders, a Harvard Kennedy School lecturer, co-authored the book “Rewiring Democracy” that was released on Oct. 21. The two appeared at a Cambridge Public Library panel to share more about how citizens can use AI to get involved in politics on Wednesday evening.

Web Outage Leaves Faculty, Students Without Access to Canvas for More Than 12 Hours

Canvas, Harvard’s main platform for classes, was nonoperational for more than 12 hours on Monday due to a widespread web outage, leaving students and professors unable to access class materials and submit assignments.

HBS Professor Says AI Can Boost But Not Replace Human Creativity in HAA Webinar

Jacqueline N. Lane, a professor at the Harvard Business School, argued that artificial intelligence can meaningfully amplify human creativity, but cautioned overreliance on the technology during a webinar on Thursday evening.

Harvard Students Find Okta Verify ‘More Confusing’ Than Duo Mobile

Undergraduates said since the mandatory switch to Okta Verify on Sept. 30 they have found the Okta app “more difficult” to navigate, and several said they were frustrated by the change.

How Alumni Entrepreneurs Are Trying to Redefine Harvard’s Reputation in the Startup World

At the inaugural Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs Startup World Cup regionals on Sep. 12, Harvard graduates from 12 finalist startups made pitches for the chance to be sent to the championship round in San Francisco.

AI Startup Baffles Harvard Students With ‘Unconventional Marketing’ Tactics

Nathaneo Johnson, a co-founder of the AI-powered social network Series, has spent the past two weeks in Cambridge, employing unorthodox marketing strategies to promote his company to Ivy League students.

Cambridge’s Biotech Industry Threatened by New H-1B Visa Fee

12,000 international workers uphold Massachusetts’s booming technology and biotech industries — including more than 1,000 workers in Cambridge. But new fees on H-1B visas could soon cripple everything from start-ups to big pharma companies in Kendall Square.

Embrace AI or Go Analog? Harvard Faculty Adapt to a New Normal

Nearly three years after ChatGPT arrived on the scene, Harvard’s instructors are adjusting to the technology that has reshaped their classrooms. This fall, the changes have been more visible than ever.

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At Harvard Convocation, College Dean David Deming Tells Freshmen to Prepare for AI Age

In his inaugural convocation address, Harvard College Dean David J. Deming told incoming freshmen they were living through a “unique moment in history” — though not focusing on reasons members of the audience had anticipated.